Promising seasons ahead for Lady Longhorn volleyball

MEETEETSE -A quick glance at the Meeteetse Lady Longhorns volleyball season and it might seem underwhelming. They finished 9-17 overall, were second at 5-3 in the 1A Northwest conference and went 1-2 at the 1A West regional tournament in Lander.

But then take a look at their roster and what they achieved this season was impressive.

The Lady Longhorns had five freshman, two sophomores and three juniors. Junior Matilynn May was the team's only returning starter on a squad that started two freshmen, Bryce Salzman and Amanda Cooley.

Like most young teams Meeteetse took their lumps early in the season but when conference play began the team started to gel and form an identity. The team's biggest win came against conference rival Burlington High School on Oct. 14.

Against the Lady Huskies the Lady Longhorns were down 0-2 but battled back to force a fifth and deciding set. In the fifth set Meeteetse won 15-13 taking the match 3-2. For MHS coach Kelsey Scolari that win stood out to her the most in a season full of surprises.

"Beating Burlington in Burlington in five sets after starting the game with a two-set loss. We rallied and pulled out a win in an intense five-set game. It was a nail-biter from start to finish and it was so much fun to coach. The girls never gave in and kept fighting," said coach Scolari.

After the big comeback victory Meeteetse went 2-1 down the stretch which included another "W" over Burlington to finish second in the conference and earn a No. 2 seed at the regional tournament.

At regionals the Lady Longhorns dropped their first match against eventual 2016 state champion, Snake River 3-0, 25-16, 25-17 and 25-8. Facing elimination in the next match against St. Stephens, Meeteetse bounced back to keep the 2016 season alive winning 3-1, 25-18, 29-31, 25-13 and 25-13.

With an opportunity to go to state Meeteetse needed to defeat Farson-Eden but unfortunately their season would end in a 3-0, 25-14, 25-18, 25-9, loss to the Lady Pronghorns.

While they did not make it to state there was still much to be proud of for this young Lady Longhorns team. They finished second in their conference, made it to regionals and had May and sophomore Devon Curtis named to the all-conference team. This is what has coach Scolari excited for next season and has a list of things the team can work on in the offseason.

"This season we were able to go into regionals second seed. Our conference record was 5-3. I was really excited to have one returning starter and be able to accomplish this," said coach Scolari. "I want us to work on our offensive efficiency, and being more aggressive while making kills. We need to continue to fine tune our fundamentals so we can jump into next season where we left off this year."

The team chemistry built during the Lady Longhorns strong finish at the end of the regular season is something coach Scolari noticed and wants to keep finding ways to grow that team bond.

"Team closeness and competition in practice is a great way to motivate the kids and get them to play at a higher level every single day," said coach Scolari. "We worked a lot on being a cohesive unit so the girls could trust each other and play as one."